SNS-HFIR User Group Executive Committee Members

Contact the SHUG Executive Committee: shug-ec@email.ornl.gov

Mingda LiChair: Mingda Li

Class of 1947 Career Development Professor
Associate Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Term expires December 2025

Research Interests: Collective excitations in solids, materials with nontrivial topology, disordered systems and amorphous solids, and designing new measurement paradigms.

 

Hillary SmithVice Chair: Hillary Smith

Assistant Professor of Physics
Swarthmore College
Term expires December 2026

Research Interests: Dynamics and relaxations in liquids and glasses; ion and electron transport in energy storage materials.

Rebecca DallyRebecca Dally

Instrument Scientist
NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR)
Term expires December 2024

Research interests: Using x-ray and neutron scattering techniques to study correlated electron materials, topological magentism, and structure-property relationships.

 

Ben FrandsenBen Frandsen

Assistant Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Brigham Young University
Term expires December 2025

Research interests: quantum materials, energy conversion materials, magnetism, and neutron/x-ray total scattering methods, particularly atomic and magnetic pair distribution function analysis.

Grace LongbonsGrace Longbons

Graduate student PhD Candidate
University of Notre Dame
Term expires December 2025

Research interests: Using small angle neutron scattering to explore the field-angle dependence of superconducting vortex lattices, and spatially resolved phase coexistences and inhomogeneities of the skyrmion lattice. 

 

Naresh OstiNaresh Osti

Instrument Scientist
Spallation Neutron Source (BASIS)
Term expires December 2024

Research interests: Exploring the structure and dynamics of energy-related materials to relate their structure-property realtionship to their real-life application, especially of the nano-confided fluids, polymers, and polymer nanocomposites.

Allen ScheieSecretary: Allen Scheie

Staff Scientist
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Term expires December 2026

Research interests: Strongly correlated electrons, low-dimensional and quantum magnetism, probing solid state quantum entangelment.

 

 

Nairiti SinhaNairiti Sinha

Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Penn State
Term expires December 2026

Research interests: Design, synthesis and high-throughput characterization of biomimetic polymer-based assemblies and bioinspired nanocomposites for developing next-generation materials

Kathleen WeigandtKathleen Weigandt

Instrument Scientist
NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR)
Term expires December 2026

Research interests: Neutron scattering and rheology applied to complex fluids and heterogenous materials for fundamental science and industrial applications. 

 

 

 

Amy XuAmy Xu

Assistant Professor
Louisiana State University
Term expires December 2024

Research interests: Using biophysical characterisation methods, especially SANS, to study how biomacromolecules behave and interact in crowded environments.

 

 

Julia ZaikinaJulia Zaikina

Assistant professor of Chemistry
Iowa State University
Term Expires December 2025

Research Interests: Group focus on the unconventional synthesis routes to complex solids and understanding their atomic and electronic structure to create new functional materials that address current scientific challenges in sustainable energy. We utilize X-ray, neutron, and electron elastic scattering methods, including synchrotron X-ray and neutron powder and single crystal diffraction, Pair Distribution Function (PDF), and structure determination from powder diffraction data to establish a structure-property relationship for emergent solid state materials.

 

Igor ZaliznyakPast Chair: Igor Zaliznyak

Physicist
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Term expires December 2024

Research interests: Strongly correlated electrons and quantum magnetism; lattice dynamics in perovskites; developing novel neutron instrumentation and methods.